When I wrote about Tesla's rapid expansion of its supercharger network, I was equally surprised by the extent of its less publicly touted network of "destination chargers"—slower, "Level 2" chargers that it is distributing to hotels, malls, restaurants and other locations so folks can charge while they shop/eat/sleep, and thus relieve some pressure from the faster superchargers which folks use for longer distance road tripping.
It got me thinking about another network of charging infrastructure which folks often don't talk about: The Level 2 chargers which most of us electric vehicle drivers install in our homes and—sometimes—places of business. These chargers don't just enable our own electrified driving, but they also provide some peace of mind to any friends and relatives who may consider driving electric, and who can now be sure of a charge if they come for a visit.
In fact, I've noticed several private charging station owners—especially businesses—in my region are publicly listing their charging stations on the various apps that are available for locating charging spots. Interestingly, this isn't just limited to restaurants or shops offering charging as a perk for your business: We have real estate companies and industrial operations simply offering up their charge points as a free service to the electric vehicle community. (Often, they'll stipulate—quite reasonably—that their own vehicles get first dibs.)
Is a network of free- or metered Tier 2 charging stations the solution to EV range anxiety?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 21 2017, @05:40PM
Yep, when we were leaving high school my friends have Neons while I had a Civic and they insisted that they had the better cars. I still see 2000 or older Civics on the road but can't remember the last time I saw any generation of Neon still running and they got rid of theirs over a decade ago due to either being wrecked or being more expensive to maintain than to replace.
My Honda was at 144k miles when it died in a crash. My Lexus has 149k on it and right now just needs a new front wheel bearing while I'll easily swap out myself this weekend.